How much has McLaren improved?

McLaren was clear that the start of its Honda reunion would initially be a case of going backwards to go forwards, but how much progress is it actually making? BEN ANDERSON investigates

'Progress' has been the watchword for McLaren-Honda this year. That's mainly because the reformed alliance has not had much else to get excited about in the early stages of this Formula 1 season.

There was much talk ahead of the campaign about aggressive "size zero" car design and engine innovation, which would return a team that hasn't won a constructors' title since before the turn of the millennium to the top of the F1 tree.